BELFAST City Council has deferred a decision on plans for a proposed £12m aquarium at the Titanic Quarter which, it is claimed, feared will impact on an existing facility in Portaferry and devastate the local tourism sector.
The decision not to press ahead with a planners’ recommendation to approve the multi-million pound scheme was taken last week.
It came after Strangford MLA Kellie Armstrong appealed to Stormont infrastructure minister Nichola Mallon to take the decision out of the hands of city councillors.
Mrs Armstrong made the appeal amid increasing concern about the “devastating impact” the multi-million pound proposal for Belfast’s Titanic Quarter will have on the Exploris aquarium in Portaferry.
Six years ago, the future of the local aquarium and visitor facility was under threat, but a major campaign supported by the community and politicians secured financial backing for a much-needed makeover at the tourist attraction which is crucial to the economy on both sides of the internationally acclaimed waterway.
A final decision on the Belfast aquarium was deferred by city councillors last week to allow the Department for Infrastructure to carry out a traffic review.
The Strangford MLA said it is her understanding that the impact the Belfast proposal would have on tourism along the Ards peninsula was not discussed last week.
However, she confirmed that she has raised her concerns with Mrs Mallon and the government department’s chief planner, Angus Kerr, asking for the application to be ‘called in’ which would take the final decision away from the council.
Mrs Armstrong also confirmed that Ards and North Down Council has submitted an objection to the Belfast aquarium proposal, with the number of other objections also increasing.
She said Cllr Lorna McAlpine has been working with the local authority to raise concern and encourage the organisation to make formal objection.
Those behind the Belfast project estimate that the proposed aquarium could attract as many as 30,000 visitors
each year, if planning approval is secured.
Ms Armstrong – who was heavily involved in the Save Exploris campaign a few years ago – said if the Titanic Quarter aquarium is allowed to proceed, it would “devastate the local tourism sector in the Ards peninsula”.
She declared: “There is absolutely no necessity for another aquarium in Northern Ireland, especially when we already have an excellent facility on the Ards peninsula.
“If this planning application is allowed to progress it will have a significant detrimental economic impact on the existing Exploris aquarium, on the rural village of Portaferry and tourism in general on the rural Ards peninsula.”
Ahead of last week’s planning meeting in Belfast when the approval recommendation was deferred, Ms Armstrong said the city council was expected to pass the application “without appreciating the significant impact the development will have in another council area”.
She said this is why the infrastructure minister must call in the application before it proceeds any further.
Mrs Armstrong continued: “This particular planning application has regional significance and a detrimental impact on a rural area.
“That’s why I have written to Minister Mallon to press the case of all those whose livelihoods depend on the tourism impact of the Exploris. The Minister cannot allow all this to simply be thrown away.”
The Strangford MLA added: “The local community previously stood together to save Exploris and will do so again. I would urge anyone with concerns to make their voice heard and lodge their concerns and together we can save our local economy.”
It is believed that the £12m aquarium proposal could create more than 50 full-time jobs and would be the biggest attraction of its kind on the island of Ireland.
The firm behind it, reefLIVE, says around 80 to 100 jobs could be created during its construction, with 51 full-time posts created when it opens its doors, subject to securing planning approval.